Naphthol compounds of the general formula:
are versatile intermediates to pharmaceutically active compounds (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,916,916, 5,929,090 and 5,998,401).
According to the procedures described in the above mentioned patents, the naphthol intermediates are constructed via a four step sequence beginning from an arylacetic acid. Said construct employs undesirable reagents in chemical processing such as aluminum chloride (AlCl3) and 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyanobenzoquinone (DDQ) under strong basic and acidic conditions.